For the second consecutive year, the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse lit up their holiday tree outside of the Student Union on the UWL campus. The lighting event was held at 4 p.m. on Nov. 12 and featured a few words from Chancellor James Beeby before he began the countdown to light the tree.
Everyone applauded as the tree lit up campus. Those gathered enjoyed hot cocoa and holiday cookies as they celebrated and took pictures by the freshly lit tree.
According to Scott Brown, director of facilities management for UWL, it took a team of six people an entire day to assemble the 46-foot-tall tree.
“Basically, it’s a series of rings that you have to stack on top of each other, and then you build the skeleton of the tree and then all of the boughs come in boxes and they have a big hook that hooks into the tree. You start at the top and just keep going around and put more and more boughs in,” said Brown.
According to Brown, the holiday tree was the brainchild of Bob Hetzel, who was the previous vice chancellor of administration and finance. In fact, all of the holiday decorations on campus were brought about by Hetzel.
“Bob Hetzel was a big fan of the Christmas holidays,” said Brown. “When we had the opportunity, he brought that here for us. It adds a little holiday spirit to everyone.”
The holiday decorations began in 2017 when the facilities team hung large wreaths on the parking ramp. The following year, they strung lights outside of Graff Main Hall, and the decorations continued to expand from there.
Brown confirmed that the facilities management team plans new decorations each year to add to the ever-growing festive atmosphere. This year two new wreaths will go up. One will be displayed on the south side of Hetzel Fieldhouse and the other on the Veterans Memorial Stadium.
One of the students at the event was first-year student Rebecca Vertal, who spoke to The Racquet Press about the decorations around campus.
“This is my first year here so I’m just excited to see the stuff that campus does,” said Vertal.
Another first-year student, Kendra Carey, spoke about how the holidays remind her of family and the feelings the lights on campus bring.
“I think it’s comforting,” Carey said. “It’s like home with the big Christmas tree.”
Brown mentioned the countless emails that facilities management receives each year about the holiday decorations and how they bring smiles to the faces of those on campus.
“I think it just brings a little joy to everyone,” said Brown. “It’s the little things that make UW-La Crosse special and those are the things that I think the students and the staff really appreciate.”
